29 November 2004 ¨C United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today called on all countries that have not yet done so to ratify or accede to a global treaty against chemical weapons.

Expanding membership in the Chemical Weapons Convention is vital for strengthening international security and for promoting the peaceful use of chemistry, he said in a message to the Ninth Session of the Conference of the States Parties to the Convention delivered by Sergei Ordzhonikidze, Director-General of the UN Office in Geneva.

¡°It is a source of encouragement that steady progress has been made in the destruction of declared chemical arsenals,¡± he said. ¡°Nevertheless, a great deal more remains to be done. I urge the concerned States to meet their obligations under the Convention, and call upon the international community to continue to support these efforts.¡±

He noted that in the seven years since the Convention entered into force, it now includes 167 States Parties ¨C covering some 90 per cent of the world¡¯s chemical industry ¨C but a number of key States remain outside its purview, particularly in some areas of concern.

¡°Multilateral action offers a platform for the international community to fight the scourge of chemical weapons, promote confidence-building and to significantly reduce the possibility of terrorists acquiring chemical agents for nefarious purposes,¡± he said. ¡°It is crucial for States Parties to also implement effective national legislation to give substance to their commitments under the Convention.¡±